Danny Alexander in 'ginger rodent' Christmas card

Mr Alexander's card shows a red squirrel in snow

Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander, who was branded a ginger rodent by a Labour rival, has poked fun at the insult in his Christmas card.

UK Labour's deputy leader Harriet Harman made the comment at the Scottish Labour conference last year. She later apologised.

Mr Alexander's parliamentary Christmas card shows a red squirrel in snow.

The Liberal Democrat is MP for Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey.

Danny Alexander said he was "proud to be ginger"

Ms Harman made her ginger rodent comment in October 2010 during an attack on the Liberal Democrats for forming a coalition with the Conservatives.

Later, a spokeswoman said Ms Harman, now shadow culture secretary and shadow deputy prime minister, admitted the comment was wrong and she had apologised personally by telephone to Mr Alexander.

At the time Mr Alexander wrote on Twitter that he was "proud to be ginger".

He added that "rodents do valuable work cleaning up mess others leave behind".